McLennan Community College Library Library Lingo Glossary of Library Terms

Do you ever get the feeling that librarians and library staff are speaking a different language? Are there certain terms that come up in our library resources that you would like to have defined?

Abstract A complete but concise summary of the contents of a journal article or book.

Almanac A reference book published annually, containing lists, charts and tables of useful factual and statistical information either on a wide variety of topics or a single subject.

Annotated Bibliography A bibliography (see Bibliography) that includes a brief description of each article or book listed. The description should help the reader evaluate the content and usefulness of each item.

Anthology A collection of works (poems, stories, articles) by various authors and collected in a single volume.

Archives Documents created by a person or organization in the course of the conduct of affairs and preserved for their historical value.

Bibliographic record An individual record in a database or an Online Catalog that describes and identifies a specific item (such as a book or journal) by fields (e.g., title, author, publication date, etc.).

Bibliography A list of references given at the end of research reports, journal articles, and books.

Boolean operators (logical operators) Terms such as "and," "or," and "not" used to express the relationship of one term to another when searching databases.

Examples: Stem cells AND Federal funding -- finds ALL keywords stem cells AND (Federal funding OR government funding) -- finds 1st keyword and either one or both other keywords Stem cells NOT private funding -- finds 1st keyword, excludes the other

Borrower Cards see Student ID.

Browser Software program used to view and interact with various types of Internet resources available on the World Wide Web. Netscape, Mozilla/Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera are common examples.

Call number The combination of letters, and numbers, on the spine of each book used by

Created (kanandaraman) February 2006 Updated (kwolf) March 8, 2006 libraries to classify a book according to the subject. It also indicates its unique location on the shelves. The call number for a book in our library catalog can be identified in the book's detailed record under "Copy/Holding Information." Example: HV95 .P43 2001

Cataloging The technical process of describing a work (book, journal, audiovisual material) and assigning a call number (location on the library shelves). It includes determining the main entry, describing the item, and assigning added entries, subject entries, and a call number. Cataloging also refers to the department in the library responsible for entering all the information necessary about library materials in the Online Catalog.

Checked out A term indicating that a particular item is on loan to a patron. In our library catalog, the expected date of return in also indicated.

Circulation Desk The counter where patrons check out and return library materials. Renewals, recalls, holds, reserves, TexShare card requests, and interlibrary loan requests are also handled here.

Citation A reference or footnote to a book, article, or other material that contains all the information necessary to identify and locate the work. A book citation includes author, title, publisher and year of publication; a journal citation includes author, article title and periodical title, date, volume and page numbers of the particular article. This is the information you will need to write your bibliography (see Writing Guides). The term citation is also referred to as the complete information about an article when it is found in an article database.

Controlled Vocabulary Assigned standardized terms used in searching a specific database or catalog. These terms will differ for each database. Sometimes called "subjects" or "descriptors."

Copyright Legal privilege granted to an author, composer, etc. for exclusive rights of publication and distribution of a work. Libraries have a special interest in fair use of copyrighted material.

Database An organized collection of information, data, or citations stored in electronic format that can be searched for specific information and often with techniques specific to each database. (see MCC's Databases by Title)

Default operator The specific relations between words (and, or, phrase) that is assumed by a database if none is specified. This can have a major impact on how the words you enter are searched.

Descriptor Another word for "subject heading" used in many electronic journal databases. eBook (electronic book) Published materials such as reference books, text books and consumer books converted into digital format accessed from the computers. (see NetLibrary)

Encyclopedia A book or set of books of information articles usually arranged in alphabetical order.

Created (kanandaraman) February 2006 Updated (kwolf) March 8, 2006 Fields (in the Online Catalog and Electronic databases) A particular section of a bibliographic record or description of a book or article, containing specific information such as the author, title, or publication date of an item.

Folio Refers to oversized books and materials. At MCC Library, these are shelved in separate sections from regular size materials.

Format The physical form of information as opposed to the content. Examples of formats include audiovisual, digital, books, journals, newspapers, electronic, microforms and microfilm.

Full-Text Database A database where most of the articles in the databases will include the entire text of the article that can be viewed, printed or downloaded directly from the computer terminal. Examples of full-text databases are Academic Search Premier and OmniFile Full Text Mega.

Government Documents Materials published by local, state, federal, and international government organizations. Government documents are frequently available at no cost from governmental websites and clearinghouses.

Highlander OneCard See Student ID

Hits Results retrieved from a search in an electronic database, library catalog or web search engine.

Hold A service provided by the Library where a patron can put a "hold" on an item which is checked out to another patron. When the item is returned, the person who put a "hold" on the item will be notified and it will be held at the Circulation Desk. Holds cannot be placed on items that are on the shelves not checked out.

Index A printed or electronic publication which lists citations to journal articles or books.

In-Process A term that appears in the MCC Online Catalog that indicates an item has been received at the library but not yet catalogued. Ask at the Reference Desk for information about obtaining the item.

In-Process Locator A service where a patron can obtain materials received by the Library but not yet cataloged or assigned a call number. Ask at the Reference Desk for information about obtaining the item.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) A service which allows current students, faculty and staff to request books and articles from other libraries if the material is not available at MCC Library. Forms are at the library's Circulation Desk or online.

Internet A group of interconnected worldwide computers using an agreed on set of standards and protocols to request information from and send information to each other.

Created (kanandaraman) February 2006 Updated (kwolf) March 8, 2006 Journal A publication containing scholarly articles written by experts on current research in a particular field. Articles are usually accompanied by an abstract and bibliography. A specific type of journal is referred to as a "Scholarly" or "Peer-reviewed" journal.

Keyword Search A search method which allows the search for the occurrence of a word anywhere in a record. (Compare to Subject Search)

Librarian A professional especially educated and trained to assist you in finding and using information for coursework or course assignments. (For assistance, call 299-8323 or send an online question at Ask a Librarian)

Library Technician A library staff member stationed in the open computer lab of the library to assist students and MCC staff with technical questions related to the use of the software and hardware on library computers, printing, copying, and using the computers for coursework. Library technicians will refer research and reference questions to an MCC librarian. (For assistance, call 299-8320).

Magazine A periodical published primarily for the general public rather than for scholars.

Microfiche Flat, plastic sheets containing miniaturized pages of journals and magazines and read using a special machine that provides printing capability.

Microfilm A roll of film containing reduced images of printed matter journal, newspaper, or other publication and stored on a reel that has been reduced in size. The film is readable on a special machine that provides printing capability.

Microform Typical formats include microfilm and microfiche. To determine which periodical titles are in microform formats, complete a "Journal/Newspaper Title Search" in the library catalog or view the Periodical List.

Monograph Library term for a book on a single topic.

Online Catalog A searchable, computerized database of materials owned by a library and displaying the call number and location of the material. The current MCC Online Catalog system is called Horizon Information Portal.

Peer-Reviewed Journal A journal where articles are reviewed and selected by professional colleagues for publication. Check the Ulrich's Periodical Directory to determine if a publication is refereed. Other synonymous terms include Refereed Journal and Scholarly Journal.

Periodical A publication with a unique title that is issued at an established interval (weekly, monthly, quarterly). Examples include journals and magazines.

Plagiarism Using another person's work as your own and without attributing to the original author. (See Plagiarism.org for a complete definition)

Created (kanandaraman) February 2006 Updated (kwolf) March 8, 2006 Refereed Journal See Peer reviewed Journal

Reference Desk Service area (also known as Information Desk) Location in the library where patrons can get help from librarians in using the library resources locating searching library databases and answering general questions. MCC librarians also circulate the open computer lab area in case there are questions or student needs.

Reference stacks The first three main bookshelves in the library where non-circulating, frequently used materials are kept. These include indexes, encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, Almanacs and other reference materials. (See a map of the library)

Renewal Extending the loan period or due date of materials. This can be done at the library Circulation Desk, over the phone (299-8325) or renewed onlinethrough the Online Catalog.

Reserves A library service that manages the circulation of certain required course materials selected by instructors and made available for short-term loans, or in house use only. Items are listed in the Online Catalog. You must give the Circulation staff the name of your instructor in order to obtain reserve items. Reserves may also contain items that are highly used and must be given shorter borrowing periods, such as the MLA Handbook.

Serial Library term for publications issued at regular intervals. This can be a periodical, journal, magazine, newspaper, annual report or a conference proceeding.

Student ID Also referred to as the Highlander OneCard. Across the campus, all MCC students, faculty and staff must have this card to identify his or her MCC status. Not only does the card serve as an ID card, but it also must be used for borrowing books from the MCC library and paying for services, copies and printouts in the library.

Subject Heading A standard search term assigned to an item record to identify its primary content. Finding and using the appropriate subject terms is an important part of an effective search. (Compare to Keyword Search)

Subject Search A search technique which requires using the database's own exact, pre- determined vocabulary. See also Subject Heading.

TexShare Card Due to MCC's membership in TexShare, students and staff of MCC can obtain borrowing privileges from other local and state libraries. For the most current information, consult staff at the Circulation Desk or go to our TexShare information web page.

Thesaurus A list of subject headings or descriptors assigned in a particular database, index, or online catalog that can be used to search that database.

Truncation In a keyword search, a word root followed by a truncation symbol "*" retrieves additional or variant endings. Useful when wanting to search for a word root that has many word forms relevant to your search (legis* for legislation, legislators, legislature) or for the singular

Created (kanandaraman) February 2006 Updated (kwolf) March 8, 2006 and plural of a word (school* for school and schools).

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) The unique address of every item on the Internet and used to locate and retrieve a particular page. Example: http://www.mclennan.edu

World Wide Web (WWW) An information system using the Internet to access information stored on computers worldwide.

Created (kanandaraman) February 2006 Updated (kwolf) March 8, 2006